McMaster tunes up for season openers

The men’s basketball team, under the direction of new head coach Amos Connolly, begins nonconference play Friday against the Manitoba Bisons. Game time at Burridge Gym is 8 p.m.

Then, on Sunday at 1 p.m., the Marauders take on the visitors from University of the Fraser Valley. That UFV squad from the Canada West Conference has already defeated two NCAA Division I schools — the University of San Diego and Idaho State — in August exhibition action.

Connolly has been an assistant coach with Mac men’s and women’s teams for seven years. He’s replacing Joe Raso, who guided the Marauders for the past 18 years.

In men’s volleyball, coach Dave Preston’s Marauders play twice at home — Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. — against the Canadian Interuniversity Sport champion Calgary Dinos. Calgary captured its fourth national title last season, as the sixth seeds, in Kamloops, B.C.

The Marauders finished first in Ontario University Athletics last season but got upset at home by the Guelph Gryphons in the semifinals.

The Mac women’s volleyball team was scheduled to begin play Thursday in the three-day Mizuno-McMaster Volleyball Classic. It’s the final pre-season competition for coach Tim Louks’ Marauders before the start of OUA conference play.

Along with Mac, participating teams will be Brock, Queen’s, Ryerson, Windsor, Lakehead and the defending champion Toronto Varsity Blues. Matches Friday are at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. On Saturday, game times are 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.

Mac has two silver medals and one gold from the past three OUA finals.

The first-place Marauder men’s rugby team (4-0-1) returns to league action Friday at 3 p.m. on the Back 10 Field against the Queen’s Gaels (3-1). In its most recent outing, Mac topped the Laurier Golden Hawks 25-19 in Waterloo. Andrew Ferguson, who ranks fourth in the OUA scoring race, led Mac against Laurier with a try and two converts.